European Consumer
In the 21st Century economy, citizens – and consumers – find themselves ever more squarely at the centre of key economic and social developments. In this ground-breaking initiative, the Lisbon Council examines the economic and social power of citizens and consumers to drive forward innovation, as well as the benefits of user-focused policy making.
Among the European Consumer Initiative highlights are:
EU Consumer Policy: Economic Citizenship and User-Focused Markets
November 2009
This event featured Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for consumer affairs; Mario Monti, president of Bocconi University and former European commissioner for competition and internal market; and Eija-Riita Korhola, MEP and vice-chair, committee on internal market and consumer protection, European Parliament. A summary of the event was published by EurActiv, the leading EU news portal, and can be read here.
A Blueprint for Consumer Policy in Europe: Making Markets work with and for People
November 2009
In a Lisbon Council e-brief, Meglena Kuneva, European commissioner for consumer affairs, enters the debate on the future of the internal market with a visionary and thought-provoking paper entitled A Blueprint for Consumer Policy in Europe: Making Markets Work with and for People. This Blueprint, written in Commissioner Kuneva’s personal capacity, expands and adds detail to the vision that European Commission President Barroso put forward in his Political Guidelines for the Next Commission, where he sets out as a priority the need to work for a single market fit for the 21st century that works for people.
A compelling call to position European policy making firmly in competitive, open and transparent markets, Commissioner Kuneva explains how consumer policy must be more firmly embedded in the service sector, as well as the digital economy and green markets. She also lays out specific recommendations on the governance of the internal market, from public enforcement to regulatory actions.
Consumers and Competition: Unlocking Europe's Drivers of Productivity
April 2007
In this policy brief, William W. Lewis, founding director of McKinsey Global Institute, and Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council, analyse the shift in policy priorities at the European Commission. They argue that a policy based on empowering consumers and citizens – as President Barroso has inceasingly come to see – represents a winning formula, holding open the possibility of driving forward economic change and making the Commission more popular with citizens at large.
Meet the European Consumer
January 2007
In a Wall Street Journal editorial, Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council, encourages the European Commission to make consumers and citizens the focus of all future policies and policy initiatives.
Read the editorial
The 2006 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture
December 2006
In the groundbreaking lecture, William W. Lewis, founding director of McKinsey Global Institute, looks at the role of consumers in driving forward change.
Download the presentation
